WPU Captures Third-Consecutive Heart Championship
Oskaloosa–For the third year in a row, the William Penn men’s basketball found themselves on top of the Heart of America Athletic Conference, defeating the Evangel Valor in the championship match on Monday by a score of 99-91.
The game opened closely contested as the two played to a 10-10 tie. Kevion Blaylock (Sr., Houston, Texas, Information Technology) accounted for the first two baskets, and Frederick Jackson (Sr., Killeen, Texas, Interdisciplinary Studies) scored six WPU points in a row, the last of those six coming from a beautiful lob by Q Cager (Sr., Hopkinsville, Ky., Wellness and Recreation).
Evangel continued to keep pace with the high-flying Statesmen offense as leads were exchanged back and forth. Malik Edwards (Fr., Drexel Hill, Pa., Business Management) hit a pair of threes to answer scores from the Valor, and later in the half, Josh Watkins (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Sports Management) and Brandon Doss (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio, Sports Management) combined for three triples. After a few patented WPU dunks, and one big poster by Blaylock, William Penn was finally able to create some mild separation as the half came to a close, and entered halftime with a 52-45 lead.
Blaylock led all scorers with 13 points, but the Statesmen were getting contributions from everybody. Watkins had eight while Karmari Newman (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Digital Communication) had seven. Jackson and Edwards each finished with six as the Statesmen shot 54.3% from the field and 42.9% from downtown.
Jackson got the Penn Gymnasium crowd on their feet almost immediately in the second half, slamming one home for the first points of the half. After a few slow minutes to open the half, the Statesmen turned it up a notch on offense, looking to put the game away early. Newman hit a pair of threes, bookending another triple from Edwards, then Watkins hit a quick jumper to push the lead to its largest of the night at 17.
The Valor battled well, and erased the deficit all the way down to four with just five minutes remaining, but a basket from Cager and another three from Newman extended the lead right back out to nine.
The visitors sank another three, looking for one more rally in the final minutes, but Cager swiped the ball on their next possession and took it all the way for the flush, effectively sealing the game as he and Blaylock sank a number of free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.
Blaylock led the Statesmen with 20 points, earning a double-double after coming down with 11 rebounds. Newman was close behind with 16, while Cager, Jackson, and Edwards all closed with 13. Cager also finished with seven assists and was a huge problem on defense, earning five steals in the game.
Ahmad Pender (Sr., Chicago, Ill., Wellness and Recreation) had a good game off the bench with six points and five rebounds, and Reyhan Cobb (Jr., Atlanta, Ga., Sociology) nabbed five boards as well. Overall, William Penn held a 47-34 advantage on the glass, and outshot Evangel 49.3%-43.5%. Although the Statesmen had three more giveaways in the game, they were more effective with their extra opportunities, scoring 19 points off takeaways compared to 11 for the Valor.
“So happy for this group,” said Head Coach John Henry. “Our bench was awesome. Brandon Doss, Ahmad Pender, and Malik Edwards were amazing. Doss hasn’t played the past two games but he stayed ready and was awesome in his moment tonight.”
What’s Next: The Statesmen have their next game on Friday, March 11 in the opening round of the national tournament. The schedule has yet to be announced, but William Penn will be the host of one of the opening round sites, in which the games will take place on March 11 and 12.
